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Monday, 9 November 2009

Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi was thrashed in the Maharashtra assembly by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) MLAs for taking oath in Hindi.

Azmi had earlier announced that he respects Marathi but would take oath in Hindi, which is the national language. Today as he stood up for taking oath, he was surrounded by MNS legislators.

The MLAs of MNS thrashed, hit and kicked Azmi for continuing to speak in Hindi. Their hooliganism continued and they snatched the mike and threw it. The incident of not letting an elected representative speak in Hindi, sent shockwaves across the country.

MNS supremo Raj Thackeray had earlier said that all the MLAs should take the oath in Marathi alone. MNS had earlier been responsible for widespread attacks on North Indians, especially people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who were living in Mumbai.

The question is that for how long will flimsy conflicts over linguistic, communal, casteist and regional issues continue to dog this nation and keep hurting the citizens. Meanwhile, the real issues remain sidelined and we all suffer.